Chancellor Merz is relying on trade with Asia - apparently as a reaction to Trump

Keynote speech in Singapore Merz wants to deepen trade with Asia As of: October 27, 2026 • 11:43 a.m

The Chancellor invokes free trade on his trip to Asia. Merz wants to conclude a major agreement with the Pacific region - and thus apparently set a counterpoint to the US's approach.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) will be traveling in Asia until Friday. The first stop is the city state of Singapore. There he outlined Germany's Indo-Pacific strategy in a keynote speech. A central element: significantly closer cooperation between states in Europe and Asia as protection against a collapsing old world order. This applies to trade, security and technology policy, said Merz. New alliances are needed for a rules-based order because the collapse of the old structure would endanger the interests of the middle powers in Europe and Asia.

During his trip to Asia, Chancellor Merz advocates expanding free trade with the region tagesschau, Das Erste, October 27, 2026 • 12:00 p.m. Specifically, the Chancellor spoke out in favor of a free trade agreement between the EU and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). “Let us work together towards a major interregional agreement with the members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” said Merz. Together, Europe and the Indo-Pacific would have considerable influence and together we could protect and promote free and fair world trade.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership was founded in 2018 to reduce trade barriers. It includes twelve countries from five continents, including Canada, Australia, Chile and Great Britain. Almost 600 million people live in the CPTPP member states.

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The Chancellor also advocated linking EU agreements with individual countries in order to make them more efficient. "As the European Union, we conclude free trade agreements with Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Australia and Malaysia, to name just a few. I don't want us to stop here," emphasized Merz.

A free trade agreement between the CPTPP and the EU would take into account the circumstances of the interconnected supply and production chains, said Merz. Both sides would combine more than a third of world trade. “In the long term, we are striving for a free trade agreement between the EU and ASEAN,” added the Chancellor. The Southeast Asian ASEAN bloc has eleven member states with a combined population of almost 700 million.

The German economy could also benefit from new free trade agreements.

“This is a conscious counterpoint to what we are currently seeing in terms of restrictions on global trade,” said Merz, also alluding to the USA under President Donald Trump. "We want an international trade order that is based on peaceful relationships and fair rules among equals. A new nationalism would lead us down the wrong path."

If Europe, the ASEAN countries as well as Japan and South Korea came together, they could very quickly catch up with the USA's lead in areas such as artificial intelligence, said Merz.

However, Merz's positioning does not result in any concrete action. Because negotiating and concluding trade agreements is not the responsibility of the federal government. The EU is in charge for all member states.

Merz's meeting with Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was also about economic cooperation. Wong criticized the fact that we are currently experiencing a restriction on global free trade. "The world is becoming more fragmented, there is more division and we want to create more connections between different regions and between Germany and Singapore," said the Prime Minister. “We fully support Germany’s participation in the CPTPP,” said Wong.

Singapore's Prime Minister Wong and Chancellor Merz praised the partnership between the two countries.

The Prime Minister also assured that investor confidence in Germany and Europe remains high. "Our investors are long-term investors. They don't just invest for one election period." Singapore believes “in the long-term potential of Germany and Europe”.

On his trip to Asia, the Chancellor is traveling with a high-ranking business delegation. The financial center of Singapore is the gateway to the region for many companies, an important hub in Asia. Almost 2,400 German companies are based there.

With information from Jennifer Johnston, ARD Singapore

This topic in the program: BR24 Radio | News | Oct 27, 2026 | 8:50 a.m